As Hurricane Harvey was updated to a Category 2 storm early Friday morning, the Port of Galveston remained closed in preparation for the heavy rains and winds — with gusts possibly reaching over 100 miles per hour — the storm is expected to bring with it once it hits the shore. And as expected, several of the ships which sail in and out of the Lone Star state will see their itineraries impacted… in some cases fairly drastically.

Ships That Are Being Impacted By Hurricane Harvey

The fleet most heavily impacted is that of Carnival Cruise Lines. The Carnival Freedom and Carnival Valor were both set to depart on Saturday, August 26, with the Carnival Breeze slated to set sail on Sunday, August 27. According to a release from the line, “the Carnival Freedom and Carnival Valor are at sea and will remain a safe distance from the storm. Both ships will make a brief stop in New Orleans on Saturday to replenish fuel, fresh water and food supplies. Guests who wish to terminate their cruise at that point and disembark in New Orleans may do so. However, given the severity and projected path of the storm along with potential challenges guests may encounter attempting to travel back to Galveston independently, we are strongly encouraging them to remain on board as we intend to return the ships to Galveston as soon as feasible.”

The release went on to say, “The next scheduled voyages for Carnival Freedom and Carnival Valor will be shortened with itineraries to be determined. Guests who sail on modified voyages will receive a pro-rated refund equal to the number of cruise days they missed. Those who wish to cancel may do so without penalty and receive a future cruise credit.”

As for the Breeze, which was originally scheduled to turn around in Galveston on Sunday, Carnival indicated that information would be added soon.

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On his Facebook page, Carnival Senior Cruise Director and brand ambassador elaborated that there would be a “refund of any pre-purchased Carnival Adventures for canceled ports. Additionally, guests who pre-purchased any of our beverage packages will receive a pro-rated refund. Gratuities will also be adjusted to reflect the shortened duration.”

How To Stay Updated

Those deciding to cancel their cruises can receive a future cruise credit by calling 1-800-CARNIVAL or contacting their Personal Vacation Planner or travel agent. With the situation continuing to develop, Heald concluded by saying that Carnival will “update you [Saturday] at 3 p.m. CDT.” Guests can also get up-to-the-minute information by signing up for text alerts by texting the following codes to CRUISE (278473):

• For info on the Carnival Freedom‘s sailing, text CCL1
• For info on the Carnival Valor‘s sailing, text CCL2
• For info on the Carnival Breeze‘s sailing, text CCL3

Royal Caribbean’s Status

As of Friday afternoon, Royal Caribbean had yet to make a decision on how Hurricane Harvey would impact the Liberty Of The Seas. Although a post on the Port of Galveston’s Facebook page on Thursday indicated that Royal “will provide an update [Friday] by 12 p.m. EST,” none had been provided by 1:30 p.m. In response to a guest inquiry, the line’s Twitter feed said that they were “monitoring the storm closely, but there are no changes at this time. You’ll be receiving an update soon.”

Already, residents living west of Galveston’s sea wall are under what’s being called a “voluntary evacuation” alert, with warnings that the area could be hit by a storm surge of up to 8 feet and rainfall measuring up to 20 inches. According to the local ABC affiliate, several historical sites in the Galveston area — including the Tall Ship Elissa — have closed and plan to remain shuttered until at least Sunday.

To date, the 2017 hurricane season has had a minimal impact on the cruise industry. This year’s hurricane season runs from June 1, 2017 to November 30, 2017.

According to a new study, if you’ve sailed on a Royal Caribbean cruise ship, there’s a pretty good chance you not only took a lot of pictures but posted them to Instagram. The same can be said for folks who sailed on Carnival Cruise Line, who reportedly Instagrammed the second most photos. But those same posts reveal all kinds of information about who’s going where… and what they’re doing once they get there.

Over 1.8 Million Cruise Photos Were Studied

Harmony of the Seas docked in Nassau.

By studying nearly two million photos, the booking site SeaHub was able to figure out now only which lines had the biggest representation on the wildly popular photo-sharing app, but extrapolate info regarding popular destinations, which group is more likely to party and how long people tend to spend on shore while in port.

As of early January, Royal Caribbean cruisers had posted over 630,000 photographs to Instagram, while Carnival’s passengers clocked in at just under 500,000. Rounding out the top five were Disney (319,000), Princess (112,000) and Celebrity (102,000). Breaking things even further down, SeaHub was able to determine which ship within the various fleets was most popular with Instagrammers… and which were the least popular.

Where Royal Caribbean was concerned, Harmony of the Sea proved to be the most popular ship, with Rhapsody of the Sea coming in last place. For Carnival, Vista took the top spot while Ecstasy was on the bottom. Norwegian Cruise Line saw their Escape in first place, with the Bliss in dead last. And while this at first seems surprising, given how much buzz there is regarding the new ship, it’s important to remember that the rankings are based on photos posted, and those are few-and-far-between where the new build is concerned!

Carnival Claims The Party Prize

By looking at the hastags and terminology used in the posts, the informal study was able to reveal which cruise lines were associated with certain buzzwords. Carnival took the top spot when you looked at the word “party”, but Norwegian knocked them off the throne if you instead looked at “drinks.” When it came to “food” and “dinner”, Princess was the big winner… but “breakfast” went to Carnival. And while it sometimes seems as if lobster is the most talked-about menu item on cruise ships, it only ranked No. 5 when SeaHub analyzed what food is most posted/buzzed about on ships. (To be fair, “seafood” came in at No. 1, and that could include lobster.) The rest of the top 5 food items? Dessert was second, chocolate clocked in at No. 3 and the ubiquitous buffet earned the fourth spot.

Well, here’s something you don’t see every day: A cruise ship being sawed in half like a magician’s assistant. Why? So that a new 49-foot segment can be inserted.

What Does It Take To Cut A Ship In Half?

Photo via Silversea Cruises.

This week in Palermo, Italy, the folks at the Fincantieri Shipyard have been executing the kind of thing you sort of have to see to believe: Thanks to the marvels of modern engineering, they are cutting Silversea’s Silver Spirit right down the middle, separating the two halves and then inserting a pre-built block into the ship before welding the whole thing together in so seamless a fashion that none will be the wiser.

Photo via Silversea Cruises.

So what does it take to accomplish such a feat? Well, breaking it down by the numbers, here’s what you get:

Over 500 workers

450,000 man hours

846 tons of steel

360,892 feet of cabling

26,247 feet of piping

And why would one undertake such a monumental task? Believe it or not, it’s actually cheaper than buying an entirely new ship… and will result in the Silver Spirit being able to increase their capacity by 12 percent. At the same time, she’ll undergo a massive refurbishment that will in essence transform her into an entirely new vessel.

How The Ship Will Be Refurbished

Photo via Silversea Cruises.

The entire project was inspired by the line’s flagship, Silver Muse (which not coincidentally was built at the same shipyard) and is serving as the focal influence of a fleet-wide renovation. “The lengthening and refurbishment of Silver Spirit will replicate the modern elegance of our latest vessel to make for a more luxurious travelling experience,” said Barbara Muckermann, chief marketing officer for Silversea. “This ambitious project will amplify the onboard features that matter most to our guests.”

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Photo via Silversea Cruises.

That includes dining options, which will see several dining options introduced, resulting in an 8-restaurant configuration. Up on the sky deck, the pool area will also be expanded from 98 feet to 148 feet to not only offer more space for sunworshippers, but also add a new aerobics area. The renovation will also see two new public spaces added, The Arts Cafe and Dolce Vita. Finally, all of the suites will be refurbished and upgraded.

And how cool is this? Just before arriving in Palermo to undergo her surgical procedure, the Silver Spirit stopped in Chaina, Crete, so that furniture that was being replaced could be donated to some of the charities on the island.

The ship will return to service on May 6, 2018, with 7-day sailings between Civitavecchia (Rome) and Barcelona. For more on the ship and her itineraries, click here.

“Witnessing these breathtaking phases of the Silver Spirit lengthening project has filled us with pride and excitement,” said Muckermann. And now you, too, can be wowed by the scope of the project by watching the video below.

When it comes to trends in cruising, Alaska is hot… and so is living the suite life. That’s according to newly released data based from the Travel Trends Survey. What else did the survey reveal about the places cruisers want to go — and what they want to do when they get there? Read on to find out.

Alaska Claims The Top Spot

While in the past, land-based vacations to places like Las Vegas and Orlando claimed the top domestic spot, the survey of over 1,300 travel agents (conducted by Travel Leaders Group) showed that Alaskan cruises are the current hot ticket. In looking at international travel, cruises to the Caribbean came in at the No. 1 spot, while there was also a sharp rise in the level of interest travelers expressed toward river cruises. The results certainly indicate that the cruise industry’s efforts to convince the public that cruising is a better value than land-based vacations seem to be paying off in spades. “Cruises are continuing to soar as a popular vacation choice for North Americans,” said Ninan Chacko, CEO of Travel Leaders Group.

The survey also revealed that interest in cruises to Cuba has increased about 10 percent over last year, which is certainly reflected in how the various lines are approaching the port. While there was some concern that recent changes in the political arena might have a negative impact on the cruise industry where Cuba was concerned, execs at the recent Seatrade Global Cruise Convention said the opposite is proving true. Frank Del Rio, President and CEO of Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings, said that his line would be doubling their capacity to the region in 2018, adding, “Cuba has been great for the industry.”

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Cruisers Like The Suite Life

Photo via Carnival.

The survey also indicated that when it comes to suites, more and more passengers are booking the higher-end staterooms. In fact, 30 percent of the travel agents responding to the survey indicated that they had seen an uptick in suite bookings. Meanwhile, when asked what type of question cruisers ask most often, the respondents said shore excursion-related queries topped the list, which again is very much in keeping with what executives have indicated is happening industry-wide. During quarterly earnings calls, numerous executives from the cruise lines have indicated that when they look at onboard spending, passengers are increasingly spending their money to purchase experiences as opposed to material things.

While 72 percent of the travel agents surveyed indicated put shore excursions as the No. 1 question, other topics they were frequently grilled on by clients included shipboard activities, pre- and post-cruise travel arrangements and specialty restaurants.